Rekindled Life Prelude
by Incarta Inc
Summary: A spinoff to another fic of mine The Dark Emerald. Taking place a few days after Incarta's death in the mountains, this prelude is the start of a whole new adventure for the young hedgehog...


My lifeless body lay limp against the cold hard rock. Head tilted backwards and arms by my sides. The grey grass of the cavern swayed in the warm breeze and almost sparkled in the streeks of sunshine that danced across it. No rain had fallen on me these past days and nights. Not that I would've cared if it had.

My ever faithful weapon still lay across my chest. Something about it had been very strange for some time now. Whereas myself and the rest of the cavern remained unchanged for some time now, the kendo stick had been glowing a warm looking shade of bright green since last night. There was nobody around to dispute why it would choose to do this. Perhaps it was like the swords of many forgotten fighters, that burnt away and decayed after their masters were slain. Perhaps the stick of magic had decided it was over and like it's master, it's time in this existence was over.

But then, something happened that threw this idea into the shadows again, like the ones this rocky mountain cast all over the land. Is that warmth? A small sensation from deep inside my body stirred. It grew larger. I felt warm.

A heartbeat?

A faint nudge at my chest. Followed by the smallest of twitches in my fingers. More heart beats followed. The warmth expanded throughout my body. Blood flowed in my veins once again. I tried to open my eyes. I wasnt sure if I had succeeded, things remained as dark as they had been before. Where was I?

Here comes another feeling. Pain. Pain all over. My leg hurt really bad. My head thumped. My whole body felt sore. How had I ended up like this? The pain was getting worse, as my senses returned to me. I could see up into the grey sky, past jagged shadows that streeked across it.

I whined, lifting my head from the hard surface it lay across.

There I was. I could see my body. I was blood stained and bruised. My leg looked really bad. I couldnt move anything from the head down yet either. I just lay there, observing my crippled body and the strange glowing kendo stick on my chest. Why was it glowing so? Something about it seemed to revitalise my soul. I stared at it longer. Was it responsible for the strength i was regaining? My arms reached for it and held it tightly against my chest. I clenched my eyes, the pain was terriable.

I'm not sure how much longer I lay there or how long I had laid there overall. But as dusk began to settle, I reopened my eyes and observed myself again.

I didnt look much better. But I felt stronger. Strong enough to get up? I decided to try.

I groaned as I sat up. My bones were acheing and my guts felt like they were spinning. I pulled my good leg towards me, resting my forehead on my knee. I felt so light headed. No real thoughts filled it. Just an exstinctive one that told me I had to get up and find my way to someone. I didn't know who I was going to look for. But I had to find someone.

I pulled myself onto my knees. I didn't stay there long. The pain in my leg was multiplied by the movement and it wasn't long before I was flat on my face. I shut my eyes. I was giving up again. I was just too weak...

_"Get up!"_

A voice? Was someone else here. I didnt care. I just wanted to go back to sleep.

_"Foolish hedgehog!"_ the voice growed, _"You must get up" _The voice was that of a woman. And no denying it was there. It seemed to bellow at him from the inside of his head. He opened his eyes again, but saw no one.

It came again. _"Get up Incarta!"_

I groaned, but obeyed the voice. It felt very commanding. Almost as if it needed me to be awake. My vision swirled and my ears rang. I felt like I was going to faint again. So it came as quite a surprise when I realised was back on my feet again.

_"Good" _The voice said,_ "Now go find help"_

The haze lifted from my senses and I suddently felt more awake then I could ever remember being before. I was stading, taking the weight off my hurt leg and onto my stick, which had all but ceased glowing now. I looked all around my surroundings.

"Hello?"

There was no one. Was I dreaming up the voice? Was it part of me trying to keep me from giving up? I couldnt think straight at all. I just had to get away from here. I peered into the darkening terrain. I was surrounded by tall mountain sides. I couldn't hope to scale them to escape. I took a few steps forward. How had I got here? What had hurt me so bad? Why did I come here in the first place? I had no answers.

Suddenly, a ray of hope in the form of a hole in the tall stone made itself available. My heart lifted as I struggled on towards it and out onto the slopes. I was startled by the view that met my eyes.

The land stretched on all the way to the horizon. I great rocky wasteland of grey stone, ice and the occasional plot of trees and greenery. My heart sank lower. How could I possibly tackle this terrain in my physical state? The sun was setting and the air was turning colder. Would I even make it through the night?

I began to feel dizzy again. I was weakening. I resigned myself again to the ever growing possibility that my efforts were not worthwhile. Only my stick refused to give up, glowing brighter then ever. This time in yellow. It seemed to ripple with energy, whereas I grew weaker. It seemed to have a mind of its own as it lifted my arm to hold itself over my head. What was it doing?

A bolt of light shot from it, into the darkening night sky. It's brightness caught me off guard and i fell backwards. I didnt have the energy to stand again. The light continued to glow and before I knew it, I was asleep again...


End file.
